SPRING 2003
This project has been suspended pending sufficient funding.

This is an archive.
&nbsp

On
October 25, 2001, Congress approved the USA Patriot Act, which, among
other threats to civil liberties, rescinds protection of “any tangible
things” that could be useful to an investigation of terrorist or
intelligence activities. Librarians immediately recognized the threat this
law would pose to maintaining confidentiality of library patrons’
reading records or computer usage logs. Worse still, the Act restricts
librarians from disclosing the FBI’s presence, the production of patron
records, or the surveillance of library computers once it has occurred.
Thus, the public has only recently learned that intensified federal
monitoring of public libraries is in fact taking place across the country.>> read complete project statement

Librarians Try to Alter
Patriot ActAlong
with the usual reminders to hold the noise down and pay overdue fines,
library patrons in Santa Cruz are seeing a new type of sign these days:
a warning that records of the books they borrow may wind up in the hands
of federal agents.

Groups
File Freedom of Information Request
"The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), the
bookseller's voice in the fight against censorship, today filed a request
under the Freedom of Information Act in an attempt to learn how many
subpoenas have been issued to bookstores, libraries and newspapers under
the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act."

Censorship In Paradise: New Zealand
Thought Police Seize Books From Loompanics,
by Russ Kick
In 1997, Loompanics published The New Zealand Immigration Guide, which
spoke very highly of the beautiful, secluded island-nation. Apparently,
New Zealand will not be returning the compliment. The government of New
Zealand has decided that publications from Loompanics are not welcome in
the country, and it's currently persecuting a married couple for the
"crime" of ordering some books. The government of New Zealand has
decided that publications from Loompanics are not welcome in the
country, and it's currently persecuting a married couple for the "crime"
of ordering some books.

Media Censorship

Project
Censored
"We define censorship as any interference with the free flow of
information in American Society," stated Peter Phillips Director of
the Project, "Corporate media in the United States is interested
primarily in entertainment news to feed their bottom-line priorities. Very
important news stories that should reach the American public often fall on
the cutting room floor to be replaced by sex-scandals and celebrity
updates."